Back Off Bully: Student Anti-Bullying App Development

Back Off Bully (BOB) App

Student-Developed Anti-Bullying Mobile Application

Back Off Bully (BOB) was one of my most rewarding mentorship experiences - guiding 15 high school students at Metropolitan Business Academy in creating an award-winning, socially impactful technology solution while teaching them real-world development skills and collaborative problem-solving. This project showcased how students can learn to address critical social issues through innovative technology.

Project Overview

BOB (Back Off Bully) is a mobile web application that allows students to anonymously report bullying incidents to school administration. The project emerged from a research, design and development class, where students formed “Spontaneous Tech” as part of a statewide competition.

Core Application Features:

Anonymous Bullying Reporting: Secure incident reporting with terms of use verification
Counseling Access: Direct appointment scheduling with school counselors
Educational Resources: Comprehensive bullying prevention materials and information
Administrative Dashboard: Tools for school staff to manage and respond to reports

Recognition

Competition Results:

Received 3 awards at CT Student Innovation Expo:
- “Outstanding Mobile App Design”
- “Outstanding Marketing and Social Media”
- “Outstanding Project”
Selected from 26 schools statewide for “Outstanding Interpretation” of the theme “Adaptability”

Media Coverage:

Featured on NBC Connecticut television coverage
New Haven Independent newspaper article
YouTube video documentation of the project

Educational Impact & Methodology

Development Approach: Students learned HTML programming from scratch rather than using pre-made templates, creating a custom solution while gaining understanding of web development fundamentals.

Cross-Disciplinary Learning:

Full-Stack Development: HTML programming to UI/UX design
Collaborative Project Management: Graphic design, web development, social media marketing, and business planning
Real-World Problem Solving: Addressing critical social issues in schools
Public Speaking: Student-led presentations and training for incoming freshmen

Student Leadership: Students took ownership of the entire development process, from initial concept through deployment.

Real-World Implementation

Deployment Success:

App deployed at Metropolitan Business Academy
Plans for adoption by other Connecticut schools
Functional reporting system integrated with school administration

Community Impact: Students created technology that directly addressed bullying in their own school environment, giving them investment in both the technical solution and social outcome.

Technical Innovation

Student-Built Technology Stack:

Custom HTML/CSS implementation
Mobile-responsive web application
Anonymous reporting system with verification
Administrative backend for incident management

Educational Philosophy in Action

This project combined technical learning with social impact, showing students how technology can address real-world problems in their community.

Student Empowerment Approach:

Deep learning over quick solutions (custom coding vs. templates)
Student-led decision making and problem solving
Real-world deployment with actual users
Public presentation and professional recognition

Project Resources

New Haven Independent Article: Comprehensive coverage of the project and its impact
NBC Connecticut Coverage: Television feature on the student team
Student TedX talk

Project Impact

The Back Off Bully project combined technical education with practical application, resulting in a deployed system that addressed bullying in the school environment. The project received recognition through awards and media coverage while providing students hands-on experience with full-stack development and real-world problem solving.

Institution: Metropolitan Business Academy, New Haven, CT
Year: 2012
Role: Teacher/Mentor for 15-student development team
Recognition: Multiple competition awards and media coverage